Individuals increasingly use portable electronic devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablet computers, and the like) to record multimedia files (e.g., image files, video files, audio files, and combinations thereof) that capture information that may be of interest to various organizations, including but not limited to law enforcement, emergency services, medical service providers, insurance companies, customer service centers, help desk centers, event organizations, and the like. Accordingly, individuals often contact an answering point provided by one of these organizations and ask to submit these multimedia files. Organizations, after confirming the legitimacy of the request, may be disposed to accept the multimedia files because they may contain useful information. For example, within the context of a public safety answering point (e.g., a next generation 911 answering point), the multimedia file may contain evidence for an investigation, information that may aid deployment of emergency services, or other useful information.
Current procedures for authorizing, receiving, reviewing, and logging solicited multimedia received by an answering point include a patchwork of processes, which cannot efficiently handle the increasing number of multimedia file solicitations from individuals. For example, in existing systems, individuals may be instructed to submit multimedia files via email. These files are then manually processed. For example, the files may be scanned for malicious or inappropriate content, reviewed to determine their value, and associated with a related data record. Follow-up responses in the form of text messages, emails, and/or telephone calls may also be required if the individual does not include the information needed to identify the related data record. For example, the more time that passes between an initial contact with an answering point and the submission of a multimedia file, the more difficult it often becomes to associate the submitted file with a related data record. Accordingly, existing systems and methods rely on a number of manual steps that could not only become burdensome to answering point personnel but also prove ineffective as the number of solicitations increases.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for processing solicited multimedia files.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.